


Loving Is High In The Winter

by Half



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Ski lodge AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 22:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11609940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Half/pseuds/Half
Summary: Waverly subconsciously rubbed at the pocket of her jacket. “Yeah, well, what are you doing with a snowboard anyway? This is a ski resort.”“Mountain resort. Plus, that’s bullshit and you know it.”Her teeth gritted, Waverly tightened her grip on her ski poles. “Okay. Well. How about I just leave and hopefully don’t see you later?”The boarder didn’t even try to hide how her eyes skimmed up and down Waverly’s body. “Oh, I’m hoping I do see you later.”





	Loving Is High In The Winter

The sunlight was warm and welcoming on Waverly’s skin, washing over her face and momentarily making her feel like she was in some tropical paradise.

The icy breeze that whipped past her moments later put her right back where she was: at the top of her normal run, the black diamond slope at Purgatory Mountain Resort.

Waverly grinned and tapped her poles together to shake the excess snow off of them. She readied herself to start her way downhill, but she was interrupted when there was a shout, and a small mound of snow was tossed at her from the side.

Frowning and shaking off her skis, Waverly looked next to her at the offender who had disturbed her peace.

A snowboarder was lying in the snow, grinning up at the sky, her board half-buried in the white fluff.

“Uhm. Excuse me. Are you alive?”

“I don’t know.” The snowboarder leaned up on her elbows, turning her dazzling grin to Waverly. “Just came down the double black diamond portion of the mountain. It was a hell of a ride.”

Waverly ignored the twitch of jealousy in her stomach that came every time she met somebody who had gone to the top of the resort’s slopes. It was something she hadn’t done yet, and she found herself growing even more irritated with the woman before her.

“You do know that this is a _private_ ski resort, correct?” Waverly asked coldly. “The public slopes are on the other side of the mountain.”

The boarder sat up, resting her elbows on her knees and lifting up her goggles so that Waverly could see her entire face.

She was young, probably Waverly’s age, with brown eyes that seemed to see everything about her.

She was also really goddamn pretty.

“Actually,” the boarder said with a smirk. She pulled a badge out of the pocket of her heavy jacket and held it up. “I’m a platinum member, thanks very much.”

Waverly felt herself go pale. “Oh.”

_“Oh,”_ the snowboarder repeated, mockery in her voice. She held out a hand. “Are you gonna help me up?”

“No,” Waverly replied snottily. “Doesn’t your platinum ass have servants to do that for you?”

“Ouch. Somebody’s a gold member.”

Waverly subconsciously rubbed at the pocket of her jacket. “Yeah, well, what are you doing with a snowboard anyway? This is a ski resort.”

“ _Mountain_ resort. Plus, that’s bullshit and you know it.”

Her teeth gritted, Waverly tightened her grip on her ski poles. “Okay. Well. How about I just leave and hopefully don’t see you later?”

The boarder didn’t even try to hide how her eyes skimmed up and down Waverly’s body. “Oh, I’m hoping I _do_ see you later.”

Waverly made a noise of irritation and took off down the hill, the sound of the snowboarder’s laugh following after her.

 

+++++

 

Waverly sat by the fire and read _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ for the nineteenth time. As she took a sip of her hot chocolate, she heard a thump and, out of the corner of her eye, noticed someone sitting on the couch across from her.

She shot a quick glance upward to see who had joined her, and her book slipped from her fingers and fell into her lap.

The snowboarder from the slopes was sprawled on the couch, supporting her head with one hand, holding a smoothie with the the other. She was wearing socks instead of shoes, baggy sweatpants, a tank top, and a dark blue snapback, and Waverly felt that same rush of irritation again.

“It’s the middle of winter and you’re wearing a tank top?”

The boarder pointed at the fireplace. “Heat.” She pointed at Waverly. “And you’re just jealous of the guns, baby.”

Waverly tried desperately to ignore the heat she knew was turning her ears pink. “You’re an ass.”

“No, I’m a Nicole.”

“What?”

“My name. Nicole. Nicole Haught.”

Waverly snorted. “That has to be fake.”

“Not according to the business card,” the boarder said cheerfully. “What can I call you?”

“None of your goddamn business.”

“Does that _fit_ on business cards?”

Waverly gaped at her. “You’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been told that, yes.”

“Well, as long as you know.” Waverly stood up, snapping her book closed loudly. “Waverly,” she said through gritted teeth. “My name is Waverly Earp.”

“Beautiful name.”

“If you keep talking, I’ll dump that smoothie on you.”

Nicole smirked. “Promise?”

Waverly groaned and stormed off.

 

+++++

 

Waverly continued to see Nicole Haught throughout the resort almost every time she went there. And every time they made eye contact, Nicole shot her that same cocky smirk that made Waverly’s blood boil.

The next time Waverly attempted to sit on the couch by the fire, Nicole was seated across from her within minutes, loudly sipping on a smoothie.

“Damn, y’know, these things really are quite good,” Nicole said. “Special from the Platinum Access area of the resort. Have you ever had one before?”

“No,” Waverly grumbled.

“No? Why… _ohhhhhhh_ , RIGHT, you only have a _gold_ membership.”

Waverly, without thinking, reached across the table, grabbed the smoothie from Nicole’s hands, and dumped it directly into the snowboarder’s lap.

To her surprise, Nicole just glanced down at it and shrugged. “Yeah, I saw that coming.” She carefully started sliding out of her sweatpants, and Waverly choked.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Don’t get all hot and bothered, Earp, I’m wearing swishy shorts.” Nicole folded up her smoothied sweatpants and stood, tossing them into a nearby trashcan.

“You mean basketball shorts?”

“Sure, whatever.”

“And you do realize that you could’ve just _washed_ the sweatpants, right?”

“I was already planning on throwing those ones out. I figured you’d throw something at me eventually.”

Waverly stared at her. “You’re a strange woman, aren’t you?”

“That’s the goal, yes.” Nicole flopped back down onto the couch and put her feet up on the table. “Question.”

“Great,” Waverly said dryly.

“Why do you always storm off at the end of our conversations?”

“Because you piss me off.”

Nicole raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“You’re an arrogant shit.”

“I know.” Nicole leaned forward a bit. “I’m sort of hoping you like it.”

 

+++++

 

Waverly went down the Intermediate slopes a few times just for some fun and practice on a technique she had been trying. As she headed for the ski lift, Nicole suddenly appeared next to her.

“Sup.”

“God, not you again,” Waverly groaned.

“Ouch.” They shifted forward to get onto the lift. “You really aren’t a fan of me, are you, Earp?”

“You’re pretentious.”

_“Pretentious?”_

“Yes.”

“You seemed like the type of person who knows what words mean, too.” Waverly shot a glare at her, and Nicole snickered. “I’m wearing a snowboard and minding my own business. How am I pretentious?”

Waverly muttered something that sounded like “Platinum-headed jackass”.

Nicole barked out a laugh. “Oh, I see, so you’re the jealous type.”

“What?”

They got onto the lift, and it started taking the two of them up to the top of the slope.

“Your daddy blew part of the family fortune, and now you can only afford your measly _gold_ membership. Is that it?”

Waverly’s grip on her ski poles tightened. “My father’s dead.”

The smirk immediately vanished from Nicole’s face. “Waverly, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Waverly said with a shrug. “You couldn’t have known.” She fidgeted further with her grip. “And if you _must_ know, the extra money has gone straight into the alcohol my big sister drinks to deal with it all.”

Nicole was silent until they got towards the end of the lift ride. She reached over and lightly squeezed Waverly’s hand.

“If you ever need anything,” she whispered just loud enough over the wind, “I’m not as bad as you think I am.”

With that she was gone, off the lift and speeding down the slope on her board.

Waverly was so distracted that she missed the jump and had to ride the lift back down the mountain, lost in her thoughts.

 

+++++

 

Waverly checked in at the front desk before driving home when she was done for the day, and she was surprised when the concierge handed her a smoothie.

“Uhm. What…?”

“It’s a gift, Ms. Earp,” the man said with a smile.

“From…?”

He read a piece of paper on his desk. “There’s a note here that says it’s courtesy of… erm… the platinum… uh…”

“The Platinum-Headed Jackass?”

The man looked relieved. “Yes, miss.”

Waverly sighed and took a sip of the smoothie, even more annoyed when she found that it was delicious. “Thank you,” she mumbled before heading out the front door towards her car.

 

+++++

 

_“Son of a motherfuc-_ ”

“Uh. Are you okay?”

Waverly looked up from her car and thought two things simultaneously.

One, that if there was a god then they seemed determined to torture her with Nicole Haught’s presence.

Two, that Nicole Haught out of her slope gear, dressed in jeans and boots and a flannel and a peacoat and a beanie, was _really damn hot_.

“Jeep won’t start,” Waverly grunted, trying to stick with the annoyed. “I’m really not looking forward to going inside to call my sister.”

“No Triple-A?”

Waverly gave her a look, and Nicole raised her hands defensively.

“Just a question. Could I take a look?”

“Be my guest,” Waverly grumbled, taking a step back.

Nicole took off her coat and held out out to Waverly. “Could you hold this for a second?”

When Waverly obliged, rolling her eyes, Nicole pushed up her sleeves and leaned into the engine compartment of the Jeep. Waverly allowed herself a moment of breathing in the soft, fresh rain cologne scent that clung to Nicole’s jacket, until Nicole’s muffled voice said, “Your battery is dead.”

“What?”

Nicole leaned back out of the Jeep. “Your battery is dead. I have cables in my truck. I can give you a jump.”

“Is this where you give me some ‘I was raised by a single dad and nineteen brothers so I know how to work with cars’ speech?”

Nicole grinned. “Both parents. One brother. Two sisters. And I know how to work with cars because that’s the family business. I help run an auto shop.”

Before Waverly could ask a question, Nicole ran off to a dark orange Toyota Tundra on the other side of the lot and pulled it over, parking it in front of Waverly’s Jeep. Nicole got out of the driver’s seat, holding a set of jumper cables, and walked around to where the bumpers of the two vehicles met.

“If you run an auto shop,” Waverly said slowly. “How are you at a _platinum_ level here? How are you joining a private ski resort at all?”

“Mountain resort,” Nicole replied, smirking. She started to hook up the batteries and said, “Do you want to see my tax returns, IRS?”

“Nicole. I’m just making conversation.”

“I know, I know.” Nicole fixed her sleeves, pushing them up higher on her arms despite the cold. “We’ve been in business for decades. Heatwave Automotive?”

“Holy shit,” Waverly mumbled. “There’s like a thousand of those places.”

Nicole smirked. “Yep.” She went back to start her truck, then returned to take her jacket back. “I forgot how cold it was out here.”

“Middle of winter, Haught. Middle of winter.”

Nicole stuck her tongue out at her.

“So you really are rich, then, huh?”

“I suppose.” Nicole leaned against her truck and put her hands in her pockets. “What about you?”

“Hm?”

“How are you affording your wild ski parties?”

Waverly chuckled softly. “Family money. Inheritance. Life insurance. Pensions. Relatively successful job as an illustrator. It works together pretty well.”

Nicole grinned widely. “Not well enough, though, huh?”

“Oh, shut up, Haught,” Waverly grumbled, though there was far less fire in her voice than there had been previously.

“Never gonna happen.”

“Can I start my car now?”

“You can give it a shot, sure.”

Waverly hopped into her Jeep, prayed for the first time in years, and turned her key.

Her car started up immediately.

“Nice going,” Nicole said, patting the side of her Tundra. She started to disconnect the cables as Waverly got out of the seat.

“Thank you. For the help.”

“I don’t usually leave pretty women stranded in parking lots,” Nicole said, a bit too casually, like she hadn’t meant to say it.

The pink tint to her face gave her away, and she cleared her throat. “Glad you can get out of here. I’ll wait until you leave so I know you don’t have any more problems. See you, Waverly.”

Nicole practically sprinted back into her truck, with Waverly called, “Goodbye, Nicole” after her.

With a soft laugh, Waverly got into her Jeep and pulled out of the lot.

 

+++++

 

Waverly waited for Nicole to sit down across from her the next time she enjoyed her spot by the fireplace. She held out a mug of hot chocolate and said, “Payment for your services, Ms. Haught?”

“We’ll typically do an emergency jump for free, but I guess I’ll accept it this one time,” Nicole joked.

“Can I ask you something? That first day we met, you had just come down the double black diamond slope.”

“Yeah.”

“How was it?”

Nicole grinned. “Exhilarating. Scary. Fun. Have you never been on it?”

“No. I’ve been coming here for years, but I’ve never…” Waverly shrugged. “Never had the guts, I guess.”

“You, Waverly Earp, are not somebody I would ever imagine not having the guts to do something.”

Waverly shrugged again, staring at the marshmallows floating around in her mug. “Do you think… Would you come with me? When I try?”

“Absolutely. If you want me to.”

“I think I’d like that,” Waverly murmured.

 

+++++

 

“Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Are you aware how hot I am?”

“Nicole.”

“Just lightening the mood.” Nicole patted Waverly on the back of her helmet. “Alright. Go when you think you can.”

Waverly took in a slow, deep breath, then pushed off, heading down the steep slope. After a pause, she heard Nicole follow after her.

The double black diamond was as tricky as she thought it would be. Fast, dangerous, bumpy. She made it through almost the entire thing, with the turn onto the regular black diamond slope in sight, when she hit a nasty bump with her right ski and took a tumble, rolling headfirst into the snow and coming to a stop six feet from where she had tripped.

_“Waverly!”_

Nicole slid to a stop next to her, sitting down in the snow and burying her board so that she could get close. She brushed snow off of Waverly’s face and yanked off her glove, brushing her warm fingers against Waverly’s cheek.

“Hey,” she said gently. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Waverly groaned. “It doesn’t feel like anything’s broken. Thank god for soft snow.” She sat up slowly, supported by Nicole’s knee. “I’m going to be painted with bruises tomorrow, though.”

“Still pretty,” Nicole murmured, distracted. “You’re absolutely sure nothing’s broken? Do you want me to get help?”

“I’m fine, Nic,” Waverly sighed. “Can we just go back to the lodge? I’m freezing, and I’m exhausted.”

She expected a crack about not even getting through one slope, but Nicole instead helped her to her feet. “Are you okay to ski down to the bottom?”

“As long as my skis didn’t snap, then yes.”

Waverly slowly, carefully made her way down the rest of the slope, fully aware of Nicole’s presence close behind her.

 

+++++

 

When they got back to the lodge, Nicole took over. She put Waverly’s gear away and pulled her into the locker room, stripping her down to her long underwear.

“N-Nicole,” Waverly protested, but she could see full well that the other woman’s eyes weren’t looking anywhere near her body.

“Go shower,” Nicole said. “Something nice and warm. But be careful, okay? Don’t fall over.” She gave a grin that she seemed to hope was convincing. “If you take too long, I’ll get worried and come looking for you.”

Waverly’s laugh was equally strained, but she did as she was told.

When she got out of the shower, wrapped up in a towel, she found that her clothes were gone. In their place was a set of brand new clothes from the lodge store. Waverly ran her fingers over the material for a brief moment before picking them up and pulling them on.

She walked out of the locker room and found Nicole leaning against the wall, fidgeting nervously with the ties on her sweatshirt.

“Did you buy me this?” Waverly asked.

“Yes. Concierge is washing your clothes; it’ll be done by morning. Come here. Please.”

Waverly didn’t resist as Nicole led her to the couch and pulled her down onto it, holding her close and wrapping them both up in a blanket.

“Are you warm now?” Nicole asked, her voice a whisper in Waverly’s ear.

“Yes,” Waverly murmured. She allowed herself to lean back against Nicole’s chest. “Thank you.”

She started to drift off as Nicole said, “Never a problem, Waverly Earp. Never a problem.”

 

+++++

 

They still snarked at each other on the slopes.

But once they got back to the lodge, Waverly and Nicole found themselves curling up under a blanket together, enjoying hot chocolate and chatting and resting after long days of skiing and snowboarding.

“Do you smell mint?” Waverly asked, an evening after they had attempted to teach each other how to use the opposite equipment.

“Mhm. Mint hot chocolate.”

“ _What?_ Where did you get _that_?”

Nicole shot her a guilty look and set her empty mug down on the table. “Uhm. Nowhere.”

Waverly set her own mug down and poked Nicole in the side. “You got it from your stupid _platinum members only_ club, didn’t you? Asshole.”

“It’s quite good. Shame you couldn’t try it.”

“Only because you drank it all.”

“You don’t want your mouth where my mouth has been anyway.”

Waverly laughed. “Yeah? Something you need to tell me?”

“Something you want to know?”

“Mhm. What the hot chocolate was like.”

“Well, if you’re _that_ desperate to know,” Nicole said, laughing as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Waverly’s lips.

It lingered for for a long moment, deepening enough for the mint to brush against Waverly’s tongue.

Then they both realized what they were doing, and they sprang apart from each other, getting tangled in the blanket and falling off the couch.

“I-I… uh…”

“I should go,” Nicole stammered. “I should get going. Home. Soon. Now. Home. Uhm.” She scrambled to her feet and fled, leaving a stunned Waverly on the floor.

Behind them, at the counter, the two people working the concierge desk rolled their eyes, and one handed the other a ten dollar bill.

 

+++++

 

Waverly walked in from the slopes and found Nicole sitting on their couch, her elbows resting on her knees and her fingers interlocked in front of her. The moment she saw Waverly approaching her, she jumped to her feet and said, “I’m so sorry!” She ran a hand through her hair, nervously shifting her weight back and forth. “Waverly, I-I swear, I… I don’t know what got into me, I… I shouldn’t have done that without your permission, it was stupid, I-”

“Nicole.”

Nicole’s jaw slammed shut comically fast. Waverly reached out and brushed her thumb against her cheek.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“W-Why wouldn’t I-”

“Because I wanted to.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

Waverly gave her a soft smile. “Can I kiss you, Nicole Haught?”

“Please do,” Nicole breathed.

“Not here, though.”

“No?”

Waverly skimmed her finger along the line of Nicole’s jaw. “We should book a room here. You can get a good one, right?”

Nicole swallowed. “U-Uhm.”

“Unless you don’t want to… uh…”

“No, no, that is more than fine with me.” Nicole lifted Waverly’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of her palm. She grinned, a cocky, dashing grin that let Waverly know that she had regained the composure that Waverly had found so unfairly attractive from the start. “Give me five minutes, Waverly Earp. And then you can have me for as long as you like.”

 

+++++

 

Waverly Earp woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She rolled over, confused, and found a note resting on Nicole’s pillow.

_Small emergency at work. Had to go in. Please don’t leave. I’ll make it up to you. -N_

_PS: Maybe today I’ll get you to figure out how to use a snowboard without falling over every three seconds._

“What a jackass,” Waverly mumbled, fully aware of the affection in her voice.

She got up and dressed, heading out to the front desk to ensure that the room had been booked longer than one night so she could leave her belongings inside. Once it was confirmed, the concierge said, “Oh, Ms. Earp, we need to issue you a new membership card.”

“What?”

“Your membership? You upgraded it from gold to platinum last night?”

“I did?”

The man blinked at her. “Y-Yes? Ms. Haught was out here, she said that it was going through her card but that you had approved it.”

“Oh. Uhm. Right, of course.”

Waverly handed in her gold badge and took the platinum one from the concierge. She walked away from the desk, turning the badge over between her fingers. After a few moments of shock, Waverly shook her head. “Idiot,” she mumbled.

She checked her watch, unsure of when Nicole would return from her emergency at work, and decided that she wouldn’t go onto the slopes until she had gotten back.

And while she waited, Waverly decided, smiling as she stuck her new badge into her pocket, she was getting herself a smoothie.


End file.
